arXiv subjects

Mikkel Sølvsten

Publications and source records attributed to Mikkel Sølvsten.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Estimation and exclusion restrictions in clustered linear models

We study linear regression models with clustered data, high-dimensional controls, and intricate exclusion restrictions. We propose a correctly centered internal instrument IV estimator that accommodates a broad class of exclusion restrictions and allows within-cluster dependence. The estimator admits a simple leave-out interpretation and is computationally tractable. We derive a central limit theorem for the associated quadratic form and propose a robust variance estimator. We also develop identification-robust inference procedures. Our framework extends dynamic panel methods to general clustered settings. We illustrate the approach in a large-scale fiscal intervention in rural Kenya, where spatial interference generates the exclusion-restriction pattern.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2024

Testing Firm Conduct

Evaluating policy in imperfectly competitive markets requires understanding firm behavior. While researchers test conduct via model selection and assessment, we present advantages of Rivers and Vuong (2002) (RV) model selection under misspecification. However, degeneracy of RV invalidates inference. With a novel definition of weak instruments for testing, we connect degeneracy to instrument strength, derive weak instrument properties of RV, and provide a diagnostic for weak instruments by extending the framework of Stock and Yogo (2005) to model selection. We test vertical conduct (Villas-Boas, 2007) using common instrument sets. Some are weak, providing no power. Strong instruments support manufacturers setting retail prices.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2024

Linear Regression with Weak Exogeneity

This paper studies linear time series regressions with many regressors. Weak exogeneity is the most used identifying assumption in time series. Weak exogeneity requires the structural error to have zero conditional expectation given the present and past regressor values, allowing errors to correlate with future regressor realizations. We show that weak exogeneity in time series regressions with many controls may produce substantial biases and even render the least squares (OLS) estimator inconsistent. The bias arises in settings with many regressors because the normalized OLS design matrix remains asymptotically random and correlates with the regression error when only weak (but not strict) exogeneity holds. This bias's magnitude increases with the number of regressors and their average autocorrelation. To address this issue, we propose an innovative approach to bias correction that yields a new estimator with improved properties relative to OLS. We establish consistency and conditional asymptotic Gaussianity of this new estimator and provide a method for inference.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2023

Testing Many Restrictions Under Heteroskedasticity

We propose a hypothesis test that allows for many tested restrictions in a heteroskedastic linear regression model. The test compares the conventional F statistic to a critical value that corrects for many restrictions and conditional heteroskedasticity. This correction uses leave-one-out estimation to correctly center the critical value and leave-three-out estimation to appropriately scale it. The large sample properties of the test are established in an asymptotic framework where the number of tested restrictions may be fixed or may grow with the sample size, and can even be proportional to the number of observations. We show that the test is asymptotically valid and has non-trivial asymptotic power against the same local alternatives as the exact F test when the latter is valid. Simulations corroborate these theoretical findings and suggest excellent size control in moderately small samples, even under strong heteroskedasticity.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2019

Leave-out estimation of variance components

We propose leave-out estimators of quadratic forms designed for the study of linear models with unrestricted heteroscedasticity. Applications include analysis of variance and tests of linear restrictions in models with many regressors. An approximation algorithm is provided that enables accurate computation of the estimator in very large datasets. We study the large sample properties of our estimator allowing the number of regressors to grow in proportion to the number of observations. Consistency is established in a variety of settings where plug-in methods and estimators predicated on homoscedasticity exhibit first-order biases. For quadratic forms of increasing rank, the limiting distribution can be represented by a linear combination of normal and non-central $χ^2$ random variables, with normality ensuing under strong identification. Standard error estimators are proposed that enable tests of linear restrictions and the construction of uniformly valid confidence intervals for quadratic forms of interest. We find in Italian social security records that leave-out estimates of a variance decomposition in a two-way fixed effects model of wage determination yield substantially different conclusions regarding the relative contribution of workers, firms, and worker-firm sorting to wage inequality than conventional methods. Monte Carlo exercises corroborate the accuracy of our asymptotic approximations, with clear evidence of non-normality emerging when worker mobility between blocks of firms is limited.

econ.EM↗